


Trouble

by RPGwrites



Series: Bad Things Happening Card [8]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Burns, Cerberus - Freeform, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:36:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27642221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RPGwrites/pseuds/RPGwrites
Summary: When the council sends Shepard on the mission everyone believe it will be another dead end. Instead they fall into a trap. How will they get out of this one?
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Series: Bad Things Happening Card [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831141
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of bad things happening prompts. Prompted by [ WickedWitchoftheWilds ](https://archivhttps://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedWitchoftheWilds/pseuds/WickedWitchoftheWilds) Prompt: Burns
> 
> Many thanks to [" rel="nofollow"> thealexmachina ](<a%20href=) for betaing. I appreciate all the help!!

Shepard looked down at her datapad. The words swam in front of her. But no matter how badly she concentrated she couldn’t give up. Cerberus needed to be stopped. 

She didn't realize someone came into the room until a mug of steaming coffee was placed in front of her. She looked back and when she realized it was none other than Garrus she turned around and smiled. 

“Hey,” she greeted with a weary voice. 

Hey,” he greeted back. But by this time Shepard knew Garrus too well. He was worried. “You should be sleeping.”

Shepard sighed as she buried her face in her hands. She rubbed her eyes as if that would help her not being so exhausted. “What the hell is Cerberus doing?”

“Does Cerberus ever make sense?” Garrus asked a very good question. But whatever twisted thing they did they always had a reason. It made sense to them. 

“I guess not,” she said instead. 

“You’re not getting any work done in this state.”

She threw him a look that said everything but even she had to admit he was right. Tonight she would be getting no work done. Whether she liked it or not. 

Instead she looked at the datapad back again. “I need to focus on this. The council needs answers and I have none to give them.”

“Screw the council,” Garrus said immediately. It came second nature to him these days. 

The council wanted more information. It had been going on like this for months. Shepard had no answers and they were very loud about how unhappy it made them feel. They demanded more. People were beginning to lose faith in the Council and they blamed her for that. 

“They’re not wrong.” Shepard thought about the past conversations she had with them. 

“ _ When you fail it reflects badly on us,” the asari councillor said in the back of her mind.  _

“Shepard,” he placed his talon on her hand. “You’re doing everything you can.” But Garrus knew her too well. So he asked other questions. “Has Miranda been able to find Avery yet?”

“No,” Shepard said with another sigh. “The last lead was another dead end.” 

It was such a frustrating process. Miranda and Shepard searched for months for her. If Shepard didn’t know Avery she would have said she lead them to dead ends on purpose. Either she was dead or was very good at this. Shepard had a feeling it was the latter. 

Garrus reminded her time and again that it wasn’t her fault. But in her heart, Shepard knew the girl on the bench and the one working with Cerberus were very different people. 

“You’ll find her.”

It was the thing that Garrus always said. In the beginning, it assured her somewhat but now it didn’t do a damn thing. 

Shepard started to believe Avery would be found when she wanted to. Not a moment sooner. So instead Shepard only smiled. And they both knew it was fake. 

* * *

“Commander,” the asari councillor greeted. 

“Councillors,” Shepard greeted in return. 

Each of the councillors had their own version of a scowl which told her they were very unhappy. She had to wonder if something happened or if it was because of some news. 

All news was bad news these days. Nothing was good anymore. All hope was lost. 

“We received some Cerberus intel,” the salarian councillor said. His tone was as negative as it could have been. 

“We’ve been doing your job Commander,” the turian councillor said. Shepard didn’t know why but she and he could never see eye to eye.

The human Councillor wasn’t there. Why, she couldn’t say but that wasn’t her main concern. “I have done everything I could.”

But as usual the asari councillor went on, “There have been distress calls in London. We’d like you to check it out. More information about what has been seen will be sent to you shortly.”

Shepard nodded as her mind went to different places. “Will that be all?”

“Yes, dismiss,” The Salarian councillor said.

It wasn’t long after that they contacted her and sent all the information that was needed for the mission. 

* * *

"Was it that bad?"

One look was enough for Garrus to know how it went. 

"They aren't impressed with my findings." That was the simplest way of putting it. Both of them knew she didn't find anything. This whole process was more frustrating than she could say.

"That's all?" Garrus asked carefully.

"No," she sighed, "We have to check something out. We'll take two teams. Mine and Ashley will need to join as well. She'll be debriefed later."

Garrus slowly nodded, “It’s Cerberus?”

Shepard only shrugged in response. “Could be? The council believed it as such.”

Garrus’ eyes searched hers and she was afraid that he might find something she wouldn’t like. “You think Avery is involved.”

She shut her eyes. Garrus found something she didn’t like. In her heart, she knew Avery was either involved or was on it. Maybe even both. But she couldn’t say why. “There’s no sign of her. Maybe we haven’t found anything because she doesn’t want to be found.”

“Or maybe she died.” Garrus knew it wasn’t something Shepard wanted to believe. But it wasn’t just because she didn’t want to. In her heart, she knew Avery was behind all of this. 

“Garrus, we had this conversation before.”

“You haven’t known her long.”

Shepard sighed. “I know. But I promised I’ll be there for her and I wasn’t.”

“Shepard…” She knew what he was going to say. He would say it wasn’t her fault. But in her heart, she knew she failed Avery. Avery needed someone. She was just a kid and Shepard broke a promise. 

“Don’t…” she stopped him with her hand. “Just don’t.”

She grabbed a couple datapads at her desk and started sorting the datapads. She needed to start with research or that’s what she told herself. In her heart, Shepard knew she was ignoring Garrus. 

He only stood there and stared. After a while, she stopped. “We have to prepare for the mission.”

* * *

“It’s good to be working together again, Commander,” Ashley said after she saluted. 

It’s been months since Shepard and Ashley worked together last. She was a welcome old teammate of Shepard. 

Shepard had asked Liara to join but since the rations got lower and lower especially for the non- human species, Liara wanted to focus on her work. It was another dead end upon dead end for her. There were times that she thought she was close to cracking the case but it was just another dead end. 

“Likewise.” Shepard returned the salute. “How are things going at your front?"

Shepard and Ashley talked while they walked to the war room. 

Ashley shook her head. It was clear she was frustrated. “Not any better than we started. We need to get the mass relays working.”

Shepard nodded.

Ashley started to work finding different foods for the species but the truth was there was only so much they could do. She wasn't stationed on the Normandy. Either her work had her all over or she was in her office. Everyone started to get agitated about the whole situation. 

"Shall we start?" Ashley asked. 

* * *

After hours it was decided the details of the mission. Both Ashley and Shepard would take teams of 3 people. Garrus and Tali would be in her team while James and Grunt would be in Ashley's. 

They started laying out the plans. Hands showing at the holo map Shepard took charge explaining what needed to be done. Words flowed as smoothly as water. The mission was simple, find out if it’s Cerberus and if they could retrieve the stolen goods. If it’s them however they wouldn’t make things easy for them. 

Working together with the old team was nice. Shepard missed this if she was honest with herself. Each of them had moved on. They had their own parts to do. But none of their work felt like it had a meaning.

Grunt didn’t have that fire in his eyes he usually did. James didn’t give nicknames like he used to. Tali visited her less. Even Ashley and Garrus had changed in their behaviour. 

* * *

“So Shepard,” Tali began, “Do you think this is Cerberus?”

In reality, when looking at the evidence it screamed Cerberus but it could just as easily be a group that wanted to take care of themselves. People changed. They showed their true colours. And it wasn’t pretty. 

So Shepard only shrugged her shoulders, “That’s possible.”

Getting in was easy. And it didn’t take long until they came across black and yellow uniforms. 

_ Cerberus.  _ She wanted to snarl the word out. They were poison. Shepard had no idea what Cerberus motivations were any longer. It made no sense. They didn’t claim the attacks. It was random at best. But she knew she was missing something. 

Taking turns with her assault rifle and biotics the Cerberus soldiers were dead easily enough. Up the elevator, they went; the music was much too cheerful for the atmosphere. Garrus looked steeply at the speakers as if asking the music to stop. He looked as if he wanted to shoot the speakers. 

The elevator ride thankfully didn’t last long. And she was sure all of them were glad about that. They cleared floor after floor. Feedback from the other team told her they got the same as them. 

On the last floor, a surprise waited for them. It was oddly clear but that was unsurprising when she saw the stolen supplies. 

“That’s a bomb,” Tali pointed out the obvious. 

Three pairs of eyes watched it carefully as if moving will set it off. Shepard was the first one that reacted. 

“Ash,” she spoke with her earpiece, “We have a bomb. Get the hell out of this building.”

“Aye, aye Commander,” the reply came. 

Then she turned towards her squadmates. “I need you to clear the building.”

“Like hell, we will,” Garrus stated. Neither of them made a movement to move. Their feet were glued to the floor. 

Shepard took a deep breath and pointed towards the bomb. “I need to disable that bomb. Standing by my side won’t do a damn thing.

Garrus’ lips moved to say something but Tali squeezed his shoulder. “Shepard is right Garrus.” Her voice was sympathetic. She knew how dire this situation was. There was a chance that Shepard might not make it alive out of here. “I don’t want to leave either but standing with her won’t do a thing.”

Garrus ignored Tali and took a step closer to Shepard. He cupped her face with his talons, “Don’t ask me this Shepard.”

All of them knew Tali could disable it too but Shepard wasn't prepared to take the risk. She took it as her responsibility. Shepard was teamleader. 

“Garrus-”

“- I know.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Promise?”

Shepard gave him a smile. “Promise.”

But they both knew it was a promise she couldn’t keep. Fighting every day meant there might be a chance that one of them might not see the next one. 

This was a white lie they told each other.

* * *

Shepard felt guilty breaking her promise to Garrus. But he and Tali left and Shepard, in turn, started to work. Omni-tool she scanned the bomb but she didn’t like what she was seeing. 

This was beyond her expertise. Her heart raised higher and higher. “EDI?”

“Yes Commander,” she answered in the same tone she usually did. 

“Do you have schematics for this bomb?”

“No Shepard. This is a newly created bomb by Cerberus.”

Shepard nodded even though she knew EDI wouldn’t be able to see her. She saw evidence of this bomb by sites rumoured to be Cerberus. But it was never used. Until now. 

Shepard was screwed. 

Her finger typed her omni-tool frantically. Faster than she ever did. 

_ Beep. Beep. Beep.  _

That made her freeze. She must’ve done something wrong cause the timer climbed faster and faster. 

“Shepard,” EDI said calmly, “I suggest you run.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She started running immediately. 

* * *

Garrus and Tali ran as fast as they could. Getting to the elevator Tali's fingers worked quickly to set it up that they could go to the first floor.

All the while Garrus had doubts.

_ I shouldn't have left her. _

_ She needed someone at her side. _

These doubts kept swirling through his mind non-stop. 

But before he knew it the doors opened again and they kept running. Fresh air hit them soon enough. But…

_ Shepard  _

He had a feeling something bad was about to happen. 

When they were far enough from the building he started to hesitate. 

"Garrus, no," Tali said as if she could read his mind. Perhaps she could. "You cannot go back."

But he was determined. "We need to."

An explosion caught his mind. One of the rooms higher up exploded. Fire crackling.

And he knew it was the room Shepard was in. 

* * *

Her ears didn't want to work properly but slowly but surely she became aware of what happened. Her eyes were glued shut. Refusing to cooperate. Everything hurt. And the air she breathed was poison to her lungs.

It took some time but she finally her eyes cooperated.

Fire surrounded her. Her eyes widened in panic wanting to run away but the pain made her stop. Her eyes searched and searched.

Part of her armor melted into her skin. Her chest piece had a part as well as her shoulder. She groaned in response when another wave of pain hit her. Her skin was sensitive. But she had to get out of there. 

Shepard was just outside of the room that collapsed. The fire was worse there and she tried to move slowly crawling to the other side. But each movement sent jolting pain towards her chest and shoulder. The other way was clearer. That was her way out. 

She stood up slowly. The pain got more and more unbearable. As she stood up she was hit with a wave of dizziness. The room moved more and more out of focus,until it turned faster than her brain could process. 

And soon all that she could see was darkness. 

* * *

“Shepard!” Garrus yelled louder than he thought was possible. 

“Keela,” Tali said as she looked at the fire. But her reactions worked a lot faster than his. Her fingers moved fast on her omni-tool. “Requesting emergency services.” Her voice was more dire than he thought was possible. 

Garrus’ eyes turned wider. Shepard was in there. He knew he shouldn't have left her. 

His gaze moved to Tali. “I’m going to get her.”

“You’re going to do what?” Tali said more out of shock than anything else. “There’s a fire Garrus!”

“I know. But,” he sounded desperate, helpless. But he didn’t care. “She needs help.”

“And you’re not doing anything to help her by running into a fire!”

Tali was right. He knew it. If it were anyone else that logic would’ve stopped him. But not here and not now. Not with Shepard. “I can’t leave her in there. Not again.” His voice was soft this time. 

Tali nodded as she understood. 

They both knew what he talked about. They both thought of what happened at the Crucible. She was alone then. But not anymore. 

So he started to run back. And this time Tali didn’t stop him.

* * *

Shepard drifted in and out of consciousness. First she heard Garrus’ voice pleading with her to wake up but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t. Then it was others. She squinted her eyes. People in white lab coats talked to her but she never understood a word.

Everyone’s voice was smoothly. But she missed Garrus. 

Each time it was a different room. But each time she woke up in pain.

* * *

“How is she?” Liara asked a pacing Garrus when she got there. 

“Still in surgery,” Garrus said. He had to wonder if Liara could hear how worried he was. 

She only nodded in response. “I’m sorry, Garrus.”

Garrus had ran into the building. But when he got there Shepard laid unconscious. Her armor was destroyed. Some of it melted into her skin and he tried to treat it as best as he could. It didn’t take long for the emergency services to get there. 

They treated him for smoke inhalation and pried him off Shepard. 

“What do they say?” Liara’s voice brought him back from wherever his mind had wondered to. 

“They say she suffers from burns but will be okay.”

“But you don’t believe them.” Liara knew him too well by this time.

“She’s not okay.”

“She will be,” she squeezed his shoulder.

* * *

When Garrus got to see her Shepard was wrapped in bandages. And they had to change them often. She was also connected to tubes. It broke his heart to see her like that.

He wished that there was something he could do for her. But there was nothing. He just sat there helplessly.

It took days before Shepard started to wake up. 

“What-” she began to stir.

“Don’t.” Garrus reacted immediately. “Your body needs to heal.”

She closed her eyes to sleep further. 

* * *

The next few days were hard. Shepard was frustrated that she couldn’t do things herself and needed others to help her. 

“This mission was a waste,” she told Garrus one day. 

He only hummed. It wasn’t that he agreed but more that he listened to her. 

But just as he wanted to say something his omni-tool glowed as he got a notification. 

“Attention all humans. The Council has lied to you.”

Shepard and Garrus stared at each other. “Avery,” Shepard mumbled. 

“They say they’ll protect you but it’s all lies. Come to Cerberus and you’ll get all the supplies you need,” Avery’s voice spoke from his omni-tool. “Together we’ll be stronger.”

“The aliens are only out to take from you what they can. It’s time for the humans to stand up and fight for what’s right. Join us and together we’ll destroy the Council and all they’re lies.”

“Well,” Shepard said after Avery finished speaking. “She’s alive and now we know what Cerberus wants.”

“And they’ll start with the Council.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come and say hi on [ Tumblr ](https://rpgwrites.tumblr.com/).


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